We are excited to announce our For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator cohort! Seven filmmakers telling personal stories from underrepresented Bay Area communities were selected to participate in our six month intensive. The cohort will participate in workshops, receive mentoring, and be given stipends to strategically use for their films.
Their six projects highlight intersections of race, class, and gender from across the Bay Area. We are thrilled to support these filmmakers’ stories for Bay Area communities by Bay Area filmmakers. With each film comes an opportunity to realistically represent those who have been underrepresented and provide insight into how we can better understand each other and ourselves.
Congratulations to Caroline Julia Cabading, Megan Martinez Goltz, Chad Santo Tomas, Mauro Sifuentes, Sé Sullivan, Erika Staud, and Priyanka Suryaneni. We look forward to supporting these filmmakers on their journeys!
We presented a Community Building session titled, Restorative Practices for BIPOC Creatives, for the European Film Market Toolbox Programme. The EFM Doc Toolbox Programme and EFM Fiction Toolbox Programme are part of the European Film Market’s Diversity & Inclusion initiatives. The programs empower filmmakers from marginalised groups and the Global South to gain market intelligence, business tools, and connections for effective navigation in the global film market.
Our session focused on principles and practices for BIPOC filmmakers and creatives working within environments rooted in white supremacist culture. The vision was to focus on working sustainably and effectively amid predictable challenges that arise. Themes of the session included shifting perspectives on approaching the work, handling challenging situations in new ways, and building community.
Filmmakers Collaborative SF and Re-Present Media are collaborating to present the For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator, a six month intensive to support a diverse cohort of six local documentary filmmakers who are telling personal stories from underrepresented communities in the Bay Area.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 22, 2023 @ 11:59PM PST
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
For Us, By Us will support a diverse cohort of six local documentary filmmakers who are telling personal stories from underrepresented communities in the Bay Area. The filmmakers will participate in workshops, receive mentoring, and be given stipends to strategically use for their films. The mentoring will be focused on a group setting, with additional individual mentoring with program directors as needed. The six month program will run from March-August 2023.
Our goal is to nurture stories that expand our understanding of those who live in our Bay Area communities, especially those who are marginalized that will benefit from seeing their perspectives realistically represented, validating their lived experiences and providing insight into how we can better understand each other and ourselves.
Filmmakers Collaborative SF is a nonprofit media organization with a mission to catalyze positive change through the power of filmmaking. Re-Present Media is an organization dedicated to advocating for personal storytelling from underrepresented communities in documentary film and nonfiction media. The launch of the For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator marks an exciting next step in our work to support diverse storytellers and strengthen the Bay Area’s filmmaker ecosystem.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
The six month program includes:
$1,750 stipend to be used in accordance with the filmmaker’s development plan that is created in the program.
Three months of workshops (twice a month) led by a diverse group of working filmmakers and industry professionals covering story development, creative approach, fundraising, distribution, and other elements of the filmmaking journey.
Three months of group mentoring sessions (twice a month) focused on the needs of the participants’ films, with additional individual mentoring with program directors as needed.
Work in progress screening at the end of the program.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible, applicants must:
Be an emerging to mid-career documentary filmmaker
Live or work in the Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma Counties)
Be working on a documentary project that centers a personal story within an underrepresented Bay Area community. The film can be a short or feature length documentary in pre-production with secured participants, production, or post-production.
Be available to participate in the program’s activities. See tentative schedule.
APPLICATION
Application deadline: February 22, 2023 at 11:59pm PST
Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Jennifer Huang, who was selected for the DOC NYC x Video Consortium Storytelling Incubator for her film, The Long Rescue. This initiative provides first-time feature documentary filmmakers with hands-on creative consultation and professional guidance from established industry voices.
The Long Rescue follows Filipina teen sex trafficking survivors for six years where we learn of their dark pasts through brief flashbacks that reveal the cyclical nature of exploitation that haunts women and their children for generations.
The Long Rescue, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker Jennifer Huang, was accepted into the Film Independent CNN Docuseries Intensive. Supported by Founding Sponsor CNN Original Series, the Intensive helps Fellows walk away with a deeper understanding of the industry through executive and peer mentorships, creative workshopping and industry networking.
The Long Rescue follows Filipina teen sex trafficking survivors for six years in an intimate journey of recovery.
Grandma Lai is a recipient of the LIMCA-Hidden Gems III Award. The purpose of the awards program is to recognize individuals for their story, creative work, and contributions to the LIMCA Iu Mien community.
In My Name is Lai, a first generation Mien American elder, shares the events leading up to her arrival to the U.S. as a refugee survivor of war. Lai retraces moments of her life from memories as a young child, to being a newly arrived refugee finding her way in the U.S. Through these memories, Lai reflects on her life, passing on cultural traditions, fears of losing her independence, and hopes for the future.
This Adventure Called California is a short documentary film about recently divorced Arnoldo, who comes to the United States from Mexico to win back his family but meets only brutality and despair, until a chance encounter at a racquetball court changes the course of his life.
Coach Emily, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker Pallavi Somusetty, is having its first in-person screenings! The film will screen:
October 22 at 4:00pm with BAMMS at the Roxie For more information and tickets, visit this page.
October 23 at 12:30pm with Kearny Street Workshop at the Roxie Pallavi Somusetty is a featured artist for this showcase. For more information and tickets, visit this page.
Coach Emily follows Emily Taylor, a Black woman rock climbing coach determined to close the adventure gap for her team of young girls of color in Oakland.
When the Garden Comes, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker Jay Gash, is screening at Femininity Framed on Friday, October 7th at 5pm at Rose Mary Jane in Oakland.
When the Garden Comes follows how the legacy of homeownership and gardening pumps through the veins of a Black family in North Oakland.
Femininity Framed features female filmmakers of color exploring their femininity within short films.
For Love and Legacy, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker A.K. Sandhu, is making its way back to the Bay Area at Mill Valley Film Festival. The film is screening in the Shorts Program: Painting Pictures, October 12 at 3:45pm at Rafael 3.
For Love and Legacy tells the personal stories of sculptor Dana King and activist Fredrika Newton who come together to build a new monument that honors the Black Panther Party’s vital place in American history.
A.K. Sandhu will also be leading an archival workshop, Reel Life: History on Film, with Bay Area archivist, Alex Cherian, on October 15 at 11:30am. Exploring themes of history and memory, A.K. will talk about the curated archival footage she considered and utilized for the film, and participants will be able to study and learn how archives expand historical significance.
For Love and Legacy will also be screening at these upcoming festivals: DocNYC, HotSprings, Montreal Black FF, New Haven Docs, Montclair, and Urbanworld FF.
